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The National Security Agency has been on thin ice with the general public lately when whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the US government was spying on American citizens by secretly recording phone calls and tracking users' online activity with the alleged help from big internet companies like Google and Facebook. Because of this, 86 civil liberties groups have banded together to urge Congress to put an end to NSA spying.

A few days ago, the Obama administration announced that they would be cracking down on patent abusers by making some changes to the US Patent and Trademark Office, as well as get the International Trade Commission involved to help fight against frivolous complaints by tech companies to get import bans on competitor products. Several lawmakers are joining the war as well, urging the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on patent trolls.

We're pretty familiar with patent trolls around here, mostly because the technology industry is filled with them. However, President Obama wants to take executive action in order to cut down on patent abuse in the system. It's reported that the White House will reveal its plans tomorrow that includes some changes being made to the Patent and Trademark Office.

It's been quite the journey for Mega founder Kim Dotcom, but it seems like things are slowly coming to a conclusion. The High Court of New Zealand has ordered the FBI to return confiscated hard drives that were taken from Dotcom's home when it was initially raided last year. They have also ordered the US government to destroy all copies that they might have archived.

While self-driving cars have faced a bit of controversy amongst the general public, it seems the government likes the idea for the most part. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is a branch of the US Department of Transportation, has released a policy that looks to fast-track the development and testing of self-driving cars.

We've heard a lot of about lawmakers wanting to levy a tax on violent video games and such, but today's news is a bit different. Vice President Biden (yes, the second most powerful person in the US) wants to levy a tax on media companies who make and distribute violent content, and the money from those taxes as proceeds for victims of violent crimes.

It's well established that Apple and Samsung have been in a legal cat fight for a while now, and while things seemed to have settled down for a bit, both companies are at it again. Apple and Samsung will be going to court next year in the spring for what will be the second patent trial between the two companies, and the Cupertino-based company is looking to add the new Galaxy S 4 to the mix.

Mobile phone theft is nothing new, and it happens more often than we think. In New York, especially, is where mobile phone thefts were said to be responsible for the city's increase in crime. As public safety officials continue to battle thefts, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has sent an open letter to Apple, Google (including Motorola), Microsoft, and Samsung to see if they can help to cut down on phone theft.

It turns out that the security features on the iPhone are so robust, that police are unable to decrypt them in order to gain access to possibly crucial information on suspects' devices. This has led to federal agencies getting a hold of Apple in order to decrypt iPhones for them, but it turns out that so many devices are being requested for decryption, that Apple had to make a waiting list.

The ongoing legal battle between Apple and Samsung is heating up yet again. This time around, Apple is turning to Google and has requested that they hand over various Android source code documents. Apple claims that Google is withholding information relating to Android, and says that Android is used in all of Samsung’s infringing products, which "provides much of the accused functionality."